Curling sleeve

ABSTRACT

A curling sleeve for producing false twist on thermoplastic filament passed through the sleeve, the latter having friction rings at one or both ends, and the sleeve constituting the rotor of an electric motor.

United-States Patent Kuussaari [151 3,656,290 5] Apr,l8,1972

[54] CIURLIING SLEEVE [72] Inventor: Pekka Kuussaari, Helsinki, Finland [73] Assignee: Spinner Osakeyhtio, Helsinki, Finland I [22] Filed: Mar. 31, 1970 [21] Appl. No.: 24,236

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Feb. 19, 1970 Finland ..438/70 [52] [1.5. CI ..57/77.4, 57/77.45 [5 1] Int. U. ..D0lh 7/92 [58] Field ofSearch 7/5l.6,77.3,77.4, 77.45,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,537,250 11/1970 MacKintosh ..57/77.4

2,571,267 10/1951 Ljunggren ..57/ 100 2,936,570 5/1960 Arthur et al. ....57/77.4 X

3,066,473 12/1962 Maeda .57/77.4

3,233,398 2/1966 Gilchrist ..57/77.45 X

FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 378,458 7/1964 Switzerland ..57/77.4

Primary Examiner-Donald E. Watkins A!t0rneyWaters, Roditi, Schwartz & Nissen [5 7] ABSTRACT lA curling sleeve forproducing false twist on thermoplastic lfilament passed through the sleeve, the latter having friction rings at one or both ends, and the sleeve constituting the rotor of an electric motor.

5 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures CURLING SLEEVE In existing filament-curling machines in which curling sleeves are used to produce false twist on a filament, a rotational motion is imparted to the curling sleeves by means of belts or other kinds of transmission. It follows that invariably a comparatively great number of moving parts are needed. A considerable detriment is evident in regulating the speed of rotation of the sleeves because such regulation affects numerous different parts and, accordingly, the accuracy of adjustment depends on cooperation between numerous different factors. Also when the machine is operated at constant speed,

disturbances occur more readily when transmission of the.

drive to the curling sleeves is effected through a greater number of moving parts.

An object of the present invention is to provide a sleeve and drive therefor which eliminates the drawbacks mentioned above. A curling sleeve according to the invention is characterized in that the sleeve has been designed so as to constitute the rotor of an electric motor. Using a curling sleeve according to the invention, a great advantage is gained in that the number of moving parts is reduced to minimum since the sleeve consists of the rotor proper of the motor used as a drive unit. It is obvious that by means of this invention the uniformity of operation is considerably improved and, in particular, the speed adjustment will be extraordinarily rapid, by adjusting the frequency of the electric current and because the regulation has effect directly, without any intermediate steps, on the rotor itself, which acts as curling sleeve.

The invention is illustrated in greater detail by the following description and by the attached drawing, in which FIG. 1 is an axial section of a curling sleeve designed so as to constitute the rotor of an electric motor,

FIG. 2 is another embodiment, shown in axial section along the line 11-11 in FIG. 3, and

FIG. 3 is a section taken along line III-III in FIG. 2.

In FIG. I, the reference numeral 1 indicates the filament to be curled, which passes under guidance by the thread guides 5 through a sleeve comprising a rotor 3 with friction rings 2 at its ends. The reference numeral 6 indicates slide bearings, 7 indicates a body tube, and 8 indicates the stator. The rotor 3 revolves at about -30,000 r.p.m. and the filament 1, which has been heated in an oven, rolls along its inner surface owing to friction. Irregular twist and curls are formed on the filament.

In FIG. 2 another embodiment of the invention is shown, the slide bearings having been replaced with three pairs of rollers 4, which contact the outer circumference of the rotor. The shafts 9 of the roller pairs 4 have been journaled in tubes 11 fixed to the body 10. When the rollers 4 are made to have the largest possible diameter, they will present low bearing speed, whereby increased life span is achieved. One roller or all the rollers may engage in a groove provided by milling on the rotor 3, whereby the rotor will be positiviely positioned in the axial direction. As seen in FIG. 2 the stator of the motor is laterally confined between the pairs of rollers and radially confined between the rotor body and the journals thereby providing a compact construction.

It is obvious to those skilled in the art that different embodiments of the invention may vary widely within the scope of the claims presented below. This applies especially to the bearing arrangement of the rotor sleeve 3.

I claim:

1. A curling sleeve for ends false twist in a thermoplastic filament passed through the sleeve, said sleeve comprising a rotor body constituted as the rotor of an electric motor, said rotor body having opposite ends and friction rings at said ends, a fixed body, and bearing means for the rotor body supported by the fixed body, said bearing means comprising a plurality of rollers at each of the end of the rotor body, and journals supported by the fixed body and connecting the rollers at the two ends in pairs.

2. A sleeve as claimed in claim I wherein three pairs of rollers are provided and disposed around the rotor body in peripheral contact therewith.

3. A sleeve as claimed in claim ll wherein said rotor body is a one-piece member serving as the rotor of said motor.

4. A sleeve as claimed in claim 1 comprising tubes secured to said fixed body and rotatably receiving said journals.

5. A sleeve as claimed in claim 1 wherein said motor has a stator confined laterally between the pairs of rollers and confined radially between the rotor body and the journals. 

1. A curling sleeve for producing false twist in a thermoplastic filament passed through the sleeve, said sleeve comprising a rotor body constituted as the rotor of an electric motor, said rotor body having opposite ends and friction rings at said ends, a fixed body, and bearing means for the rotor body supported by the fixed body, said bearing means comprising a plurality of rollers at each of the end of the rotor body, and journals supported by the fixed body and connecting the rollers at the two ends in pairs.
 2. A sleeve as claimed in claim 1 wherein three pairs of rollers are provided and disposed around the rotor body in peripheral contact therewith.
 3. A sleeve as claimed in claim 1 wherein said rotor body is a one-piece member serving as the rotor of said motor.
 4. A sleeve as claimed in claim 1 comprising tubes secured to said fixed body and rotatably receiving said journals.
 5. A sleeve as claimed in claim 1 wherein said motor has a stator confined laterally between the pairs of rollers and confined radially between the rotor body and the journals. 